China's 'open' AI is a terrible business, and nothing like open-source software

Chinese AI companies like Zhipu (Z.ai) and MiniMax are experiencing significant financial losses despite launching high-performing open-weight AI models such as GLM 5.2 and Kimi K3. Open-weight AI models differ from open-source software in economics, as they require costly infrastructure for each user, leading to poor profitability and declining stock prices.